Chad Pearson Named Track/Cross Country Head Coach, Interim Tag Dropped

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GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG Director of Athletics Kim Record announced Friday that she has removed the interim tag and named Chad Pearson head coach of the track and cross country programs on a full-time basis. Pearson has been the interim head coach since July and has been on the UNCG staff for the last two years.

"I am pleased to remove the ‘interim’ tag from Chad Pearson’s title,” Record said. “He has done a good job this past season providing stability and consistency to our program. He is committed to making our student-athletes better, not only on the track and on the course, but also in the classroom. The future is bright for our cross country and track programs under Chad’s guidance.”

This past year, Pearson helped the Spartans win the Southern Conference cross country individual title with Paul Chelimo claiming his third straight victory. The Spartans as a team placed fourth in the SoCon Championships while both Chelimo and Paul Katam advanced to the NCAA Championships in cross country after strong showings at the NCAA Regionals. On the women’s side, the team placed third at the league championship race with three top-10 finishes in Shaina Sumney, Chelsea Sumney and Lydia Saina.

On the track, Shaina Sumney won her first ever SoCon Championships, claiming the indoor title in the 5,000-meter race with a championship-record time. Additionally, both Sumneys placed second in the SoCon outdoor championships this season.

“I was very excited when given the opportunity to serve as the Interim Head Coach for Cross Country/Track last July and I'm even more excited now that the Interim tag has been removed,” Pearson said. “I would like to thank Chancellor Brady, Kim Record and Stacy Kosciak for further providing me with this opportunity to work at such a great university as UNCG. Working with each of these student-athletes over the last year has been a dream come true. I sincerely look forward to continuing to work with this team and am committed to developing the best student-athletes possible.”

Pearson helped the Spartans record a strong showing during his time as an assistant coach, helping UNCG post three Southern Conference individual champions and two All-America honorees. He helped Chelimo win the SoCon Cross Country Championships and a National Runner-Up finish in outdoor track, while Katam also claimed a National Runner-Up finish in outdoor track in the 10,000-meter distance.

Pearson joined the Spartans after spending time as a volunteer assistant coach at Charlotte (2012) and North Carolina State (2010-11). He was also the graduate assistant coach at NC State from 2004-2006, working with both the cross country and track and field programs.

Pearson was a standout at NC State where he was a three-time NCAA All-America honoree in cross country and track and field. He helped the Wolfpack win back-to-back ACC cross country team championships as well as earning Academic All-America honors during his career. Pearson still holds the school record in the outdoor track 10,000-meter distance when he posted a time of 28:37.95 and helped the Wolfpack finish 10th place in the NCAA Cross Country Championships his senior year.

Pearson was a United States Olympic Trials track and field qualifier and was the United States 10,000-meter Road National Champion. Additionally, he was a member of the United States Junior National Cross Country Team.